UT football: Linebackers breakdown

AUSTIN –If Texas were to erect a statue to commemorate the play of its linebackers in 2012, it would need to fulfill three obvious requirements. First, the whole “made of stone” thing is a given. Second, it would continuously need to be placed in the wrong position. And third, the sculptor would need to ensure that even on the rare occasions when a ball carrier ran into it, that ball carrier would not go down.

Is that a cruel exaggeration? Sadly for the Longhorns, not really. No position group was more responsible for the worst statistical defensive season in UT history than the linebackers, who were inexperienced from the beginning of 2012 and then rendered helpless when their best player was injured in the third game.

The bright side, though, is that things should be much better this fall. The six players who logged the most playing time at linebacker in 2012 had never started a college game before last year. This season, they return seven with starting experience, and in coordinator Manny Diaz’s system, that could prove to be vital. It was only a couple of years ago, after all, when a linebacker corps led by two seasoned seniors was the best unit on the Big 12′s premier defense.

Here’s a look at how this season’s group could shake out:

Jordan Hicks, again, is the key to everything. Before he went down with a hip and groin injury at Mississippi last fall in Week 3, the Longhorns actually was doing a passable impersonation of a competent defense. Without him for the rest of the season, though, they were lost. The athletic fourth-year junior — who received a medical redshirt last season — will man the weakside spot that’s integral to the success of Diaz’s scheme. If he can regain the form he showed before his injury, he’ll be a superb blitzer, he’ll be able to cover receivers on underneath routes, and he’ll lead the Longhorns in tackles.

UT’s second-best linebacker is sophomore Peter Jinkens, who embodies what might have been the coaches’ most costly personnel miscalculation of last season. They simply took too long in realizing how good he was. While older linebackers struggled for months, Jinkens watched from the sidelines. But when he finally got his chance to start three of UT’s last four games, he was a revelation, and finished with nine tackles and an interception in the Valero Alamo Bowl. When the Longhorns go to the nickel this season, it’s a safe bet Jinkens and Hicks will be the two linebackers on the field.

The third spot is in the middle, where junior Steve Edmond started 12 times last year with mixed results. He had his moments against Ole Miss and Texas Tech, but for the most part, his oversized 264-pound frame prevented him from being effective against the Big 12′s spread offenses. He’s reportedly shed about 30 pounds, but he’ll still need to fight off a charge from sophomore Dalton Santos — UT’s closest impersonation of a chicken with its head cut off — to keep his job.

As for depth on the outside, junior Kendall Thompson started seven games at weakside last season and probably wasn’t suited for that big of a role, but he can be effective as a backup. At strongside, junior Tevin Jackson might be ready to make a significant impact after showing signs of promise in the last month last year.

Senior Demarco Cobbs, who started six games in 2012, is still recovering from a knee injury and might not be much of a factor this fall. If UT needs help beyond its top six linebackers, it could come from junior Aaron Benson or freshmen Tim Cole (who redshirted last year), Deoundrei Davis and Naashon Hughes.